A rectified spirit, rectified alcohol, or neutral spirit is highly concentrated ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

 which has been purified by means of repeated distillation, a process that is called rectification. It typically contains 95% alcohol by volume

Alcohol by volume

Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....

 (ABV). Rectified spirits are used in mixed drinks, in the production of liqueurs, for medicinal purposes

Tincture

A tincture is an alcoholic extract or solution of a non-volatile substance . To qualify as a tincture, the alcoholic extract is to have an ethanol percentage of at least 40-60%...

, and as a household solvent.

The purity of rectified spirit has a practical limit of 95.6% ABV (191.2 US proof) when produced using conventional distillation

Distillation

Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....

 processes, because a mixture of ethanol and water becomes an azeotrope

Azeotrope

An azeotrope is a mixture of two or more liquids in such a ratio that its composition cannot be changed by simple distillation. This occurs because, when an azeotrope is boiled, the resulting vapor has the same ratio of constituents as the original mixture....

 at this concentration.

Neutral grain spirits are rectified spirits made from grain

GRAIN

GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...

.